Third 'CSI' Planned for NYC YES IT IS TRUE

Danzig

Well-Known Member
Third 'CSI' Planned for NYC
Jan 17, 5:49 PM EST

Associated Press

Showing some swagger in the midst of one of its best seasons in years, CBS announced Saturday that it is launching a third drama in its "CSI" series — this time based in New York City.

The second spinoff to television's most popular program, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," will come from the same production team and is expected to premiere this fall.

CBS has been No. 1 this television season by the widest margin since the 1980s and, although NBC still leads among the 18-to-49-year-old demographic for which advertisers pay a premium, CBS is closing the gap there.

The network said that four of its freshman series — "Two and a Half Men," "Cold Case," "Joan of Arcadia" and "Navy NCIS" — have received orders for a second season.

"It's a great schedule," said CBS Chairman Leslie Moonves. "To get on our schedule for the next season, you have to be damn good."

In a choice bit of Hollywood dramatics, CBS also announced a deal with executive producer Mark Burnett for two more "Survivor" editions — after Moonves and Burnett hammered it out by the escalators at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel.

A few minutes earlier, Burnett had complained to a roomful of reporters that he hadn't made his deal with CBS and time was running short.

Moonves said he was happy with the deal, despite calling Burnett a "drama queen." It was inevitable: CBS wasn't about to make "Survivor" without the man who made it a sensation, and Burnett couldn't take it anywhere else because CBS owns the show.

CBS executives showed none of the hand-wringing about the state of the television industry displayed by other network executives during meetings with the Television Critics Association over the past week.

ABC, NBC and Fox, which have seen sinking ratings this season, each said they were looking at different ways to shake up the business. NBC will premiere its fall shows three weeks earlier this summer, and Fox stressed that it will use the full year — not just the fall — to launch new programming. ABC says it will do more limited-run series like HBO.

One potential cloud on CBS' horizon is the future of its most popular comedy, "Everybody Loves Raymond." Moonves said he's negotiating with producers and stars of the series for another season and, "frankly, it could go either way."

The coming year is already a turning point for television comedy, with HBO's "Sex and the City" and NBC's "Friends" and "Frasier" airing their final episodes.

Moonves said he's using those other exits in his talks with people at "Everybody Loves Raymond," arguing that the show will get lost in the shuffle if it also ends this year.

"Let's try to go one more year," he said. "You'll have the victory lap. We'll give you awards. We'll give you dinners. We'll supersize you."
 
Top